December 12, 2007
THE FARCE THAT IS THE CITY OF MEMPHIS BUDGET!!!
Has anyone taken a look at the 2008 City of Memphis budget? Hey! NEW CITY COUNCIL! Do you have the time and the energy to look at this fiscal farce.
The people costs are absolutely out of control. Consider, in addition to the large 2008 increase, the fact that many $$millions$$ have already been moved in recent years from Public Works to a couple of enterprise funds (sewer & storm water). Jerry Collins moved an awful lot of headcount there from 2005 - 2007. ... Example of their shell game. Reduce Operating Fund headcount & expenses ... and cover them in an Enterprise Fund with the add ons to your MLGW bill for sewer & stormwater. What a scam!
Herenton's even setting up a city "utility assistance fund"! ... "$2.5 million in the Executive Division to fund a citizen’s utility assistance program." What is going on???? MLGW is already eating $$MILLIONS$$ of the unpaid utility bills, while administering their own "assistance programs".
"In addition, $3 million is provided to establish a trust to pre-fund other post-employment benefits to meet the requirements of GASB 45 and $3 million is provided for a onetime bonus to City employees employed as of June 30 2006."
Is the above not a joke??? How much is their estimated GASB exposure??? Do they know??? When is the "hit" coming??
Another interesting item, ... the 2007 City Attorney's Budget is missing from the website. I wanted to compare the detail with 2008). Luckily I downloaded the budget to my computer so I still have it. The Linebarger rape of Memphis taxpayers is continuing. Paying outrageous fees for less than mediocre work. Now ... Linebarger. ... You will notice estimated ad valorem tax revenues have increased ~$41MM, from actual 2005 to budget 2007, while "prior year" (delinquent) collections have actually decreased a bit from 2005 to 2007. To add insult to injury, we see a ~$6MM increase in the City Attorney's costs as mentioned in the overview. This one is particularly disturbing ... we're paying $6MM more to a crony & actually receiving less.You know, the city didn't "lose" one employee when they originally farmed all that stuff to Linebarger. ... NOT ONE! You still have ALL the original expense ... PLUS Linebarger, and lousier performance to boot.
I'm getting worked up about this mess. The corruption, and incompetence, is overwhelming. It's like pushing water uphill. There is no support for making things right from either the media or the City Council. Does anyone care?
Take a look at the Human Resources headcount numbers.
Click here for the Human Resources headcount numbers
They're going from 39 positions in actual 2006 ... to 64 budgeted positions in 2008 (Page1). Look at their page 18 ... they show authorized positions of 52???? They can't even get their numbers right.
Look at Executive ...
Click here to see the Executive increase budget numbers
Went from 36 positions in 2006 actual to 98 positions in 2008.
As you can see from the Memphis budget info, the real operating expenses of Memphis government have increased significantly. The budgeting and financial reporting process is very deceptive. To the "untrained eye" it would appear that expenses are under excellent control ... ( They show total General Fund expenditures increasing a mere $3MM from 2005 actual to "budget 2007").
However, they have removed an additional ~$24MM from the General Fund operating expenses, from 2005 to 2007, with the increase in solid waste disposal fees, as an offset and have removed another ~$14MM with the introduction of the "Storm Water" fee ripoff. These are TRADITIONAL operating expenses that have been removed from the expense budget via transfer to another revenue fund, or offset by the higher fees. Bottom line ... just considering these two items, the operating expenses have increased ~$37MM from actual 2005 to budget 2007. Liars figure and figures lie.
Taxpayers of Memphis, when are you going to listen? We need you to rise up and let these politicians know you want real change, not a continuation of this fiscal farce.
The farce that is the City of Memphis budget
THE FARCE THAT IS THE CITY OF MEMPHIS BUDGET!!!
Has anyone taken a look at the 2008 City of Memphis budget? Hey! NEW CITY COUNCIL! Do you have the time and the energy to look at this fiscal farce.
The people costs are absolutely out of control. Consider, in addition to the large 2008 increase, the fact that many $$millions$$ have already been moved in recent years from Public Works to a couple of enterprise funds (sewer & storm water). Jerry Collins moved an awful lot of headcount there from 2005 - 2007. ... Example of their shell game. Reduce Operating Fund headcount & expenses ... and cover them in an Enterprise Fund with the add ons to your MLGW bill for sewer & stormwater. What a scam!
Herenton's even setting up a city "utility assistance fund"! ... "$2.5 million in the Executive Division to fund a citizen’s utility assistance program." What is going on???? MLGW is already eating $$MILLIONS$$ of the unpaid utility bills, while administering their own "assistance programs".
"In addition, $3 million is provided to establish a trust to pre-fund other post-employment benefits to meet the requirements of GASB 45 and $3 million is provided for a onetime bonus to City employees employed as of June 30 2006."
Is the above not a joke??? How much is their estimated GASB exposure??? Do they know??? When is the "hit" coming??
Another interesting item, ... the 2007 City Attorney's Budget is missing from the website. I wanted to compare the detail with 2008). Luckily I downloaded the budget to my computer so I still have it. The Linebarger rape of Memphis taxpayers is continuing. Paying outrageous fees for less than mediocre work. Now ... Linebarger. ... You will notice estimated ad valorem tax revenues have increased ~$41MM, from actual 2005 to budget 2007, while "prior year" (delinquent) collections have actually decreased a bit from 2005 to 2007. To add insult to injury, we see a ~$6MM increase in the City Attorney's costs as mentioned in the overview. This one is particularly disturbing ... we're paying $6MM more to a crony & actually receiving less.You know, the city didn't "lose" one employee when they originally farmed all that stuff to Linebarger. ... NOT ONE! You still have ALL the original expense ... PLUS Linebarger, and lousier performance to boot.
I'm getting worked up about this mess. The corruption, and incompetence, is overwhelming. It's like pushing water uphill. There is no support for making things right from either the media or the City Council. Does anyone care?
Take a look at the Human Resources headcount numbers.
Click here for the Human Resources headcount numbers
They're going from 39 positions in actual 2006 ... to 64 budgeted positions in 2008 (Page1). Look at their page 18 ... they show authorized positions of 52???? They can't even get their numbers right.
Look at Executive ...
Click here to see the Executive increase budget numbers
Went from 36 positions in 2006 actual to 98 positions in 2008.
As you can see from the Memphis budget info, the real operating expenses of Memphis government have increased significantly. The budgeting and financial reporting process is very deceptive. To the "untrained eye" it would appear that expenses are under excellent control ... ( They show total General Fund expenditures increasing a mere $3MM from 2005 actual to "budget 2007").
However, they have removed an additional ~$24MM from the General Fund operating expenses, from 2005 to 2007, with the increase in solid waste disposal fees, as an offset and have removed another ~$14MM with the introduction of the "Storm Water" fee ripoff. These are TRADITIONAL operating expenses that have been removed from the expense budget via transfer to another revenue fund, or offset by the higher fees. Bottom line ... just considering these two items, the operating expenses have increased ~$37MM from actual 2005 to budget 2007. Liars figure and figures lie.
Taxpayers of Memphis, when are you going to listen? We need you to rise up and let these politicians know you want real change, not a continuation of this fiscal farce.
The farce that is the City of Memphis budget
posted by watchdog at
9:43 AM
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